Effects of Saffron and its Active Constituents, Crocin and Safranal, on Prevention of Indomethacin Induced Gastric Ulcers in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Rats

Saffron is the dried stigmata of the flowers of saffron (crocus sativus l.,iridaceae). saffron is well known for the treatment of gastric disorders in traditionalmedicine.objectives: in the search for new potential antiulcer agents, the effects of the ethanolextract of saffron and its active constituents crocin and safranal as compared withomeprazole against gastric ulcer induced by indomethacin in non-diabetic andstreptozocin diabetic rats were studied.methods: the effects of pretreatment with saffron extract (25, 100 or 250 mg/kg, p.o.),crocin (2.5, 5 or 10 mg/kg, p.o.) and safranal (0.25, 2, 5 ml/kg, p.o.) and omeprazole (30mg/kg, p.o.) 30 min before administration of indomethacin (40 mg/kg, p.o. in non-diabeticrats and 15 mg/kg, p.o. in diabetic rats) on gastric lesions, increase of lipid peroxidationand decrease of glutathione levels induced by indomethacin in non-diabetic and diabeticrats were evaluated.results: saffron extract, crocin, safranal and omeprazol prevented the gastric lesions,increase of lipid peroxidation and decrease of glutathione levels induced by indomethacinin non-diabetic and diabetic rats as compared with the control group (p < 0.01). theeffects of saffron extract, crocin and safranal on the gastric ulcer index, lipidperoxidation and glutathione levels were comparable to omeprazole.conclusions: saffron, crocin and safranal may prevent the gastric mucosa damage dueto their antioxidant properties by increasing the gluthatione levels and diminishing thelipid peroxidation in the rat gastric mucosa.